Maple Leafs' Troy Bodie nets first goal with Toronto

Troy Bodie and Jerry D'Amigo of the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate Bodie's goal against the Phoenix Coyotes during NHL action at the Air Canada Centre on December 19, 2013. (Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency)

It was efficient use of limited ice time - not that Troy Bodie was going to complain.

But even by fourth-line standards, it was a light night at the office for the big winger, who was getting just his 13th start of the season for the Maple Leafs.

Bodie made the best of this opportunity, however, scoring on his first shift when he banged in a Cody Franson rebound at 5:52 of the first period Thursday night against the Phoenix Coyotes.

His reward for the rest of the night? Two more shifts and total ice time of two minutes and 28 seconds.

"It was good to get the goal despite the ice time," said Bodie, who scored for just the seventh time in his career and first as a Maple Leaf in the 2-1 shootout win. "(Coach) Randy (Carlyle) is the type of guy who likes to play his top guns. That's all right."

While Carlyle is fond enough of playing his top line, the production isn't coming often enough these days, making a rare Bodie goal all the more significant. As for the limited opportunity to get another, Carlyle said line matching with Coyotes counterpart Dave Tippett offered no opportunity to tempt fate.

"I didn't reward them much after that," Carlyle said. "(The Coyotes) didn't play their fourth line so do we play ours? We just made the decision to stick with the lines that we had.

"Any time you can get a contribution from the fourth line, it's a huge bonus for the rest of the group. It elevates their value in the room."

Maple Leafs' Troy Bodie nets first goal with Toronto

It was efficient use of limited ice time - not that Troy Bodie was going to complain.

But even by fourth-line standards, it was a light night at the office for the big winger, who was getting just his 13th start of the season for the Maple Leafs.

Bodie made the best of this opportunity, however, scoring on his first shift when he banged in a Cody Franson rebound at 5:52 of the first period Thursday night against the Phoenix Coyotes.

His reward for the rest of the night? Two more shifts and total ice time of two minutes and 28 seconds.

"It was good to get the goal despite the ice time," said Bodie, who scored for just the seventh time in his career and first as a Maple Leaf in the 2-1 shootout win. "(Coach) Randy (Carlyle) is the type of guy who likes to play his top guns. That's all right."